The World Has Gone Insane Saga Parts 1-5
by Kayeth Creed
Summary: A battle ends unexpectedly, a new prophecy, the children are being struck down one by one....interested? Then read!


The World Has Gone Insane: Legend Of Loyalty  
Prologue   
By: ~Kay Inoue~   
A/N: First Five parts + prologue. Enjoy!  
Disclaimer: I need one, don't I? ::anonymous people nod slowly in synchrony:: awwww ::pouts:: All right, I don't own Digimon, but anything new here belongs to ME! That includes Alchemine, Jadomon, Nimuemon, Trakovramon, etc. Is that enough? ::people nod again::   
  
When would it end? Would it ever?  
Would Kaizer defeat them? Or would they defeat him?  
'Will I ever stop thinking about these questions?!' Yolei thought irritably 'We're in the middle of a battle!'  
They were at the base of some cliff. All of their Digimon had digivolved, and they had Kaizer trapped against the sheer stone wall.  
"Fire Rocket!" Flamedramon, Davis's Digimon, shouted as he shot a beam of fire at Kaizer. The evil Digidestined simply deflected it with some sort of shield around him. His blue eyes glared hatefully at them.  
"Do you think you'll defeat me that easily?"  
"How about 'yes'?" Kari muttered. Yolei laughed a little, then turned back to the fight.  
"Come on Halsemon!" she shouted at the flying Digimon with a silver helmet.  
"Tempest Wing!" he cried, a crimson beam of energy coming off his helmet. Kaizer again blocked the attack. Nefertimon used the distraction and nailed Kaizer with her 'Rossetta Stone' attack. Unprepared, the blow sent the evil human sprawling.  
"All at once!" Davis shouted "While he's down!"  
"Fire Rocket!"  
"Tempest Wing!"  
"Rossetta Stone!"  
"Star Shooter!"  
"Gold Rush!"  
Kaizer called up his shield of dark energy, but all five attacks were too much. The barrier shattered, sending the shards and the attacks back on its owner. The raw energy picked the Kaizer up and rammed him into the stone wall of the cliff. He slid back down, a red smear marking where he'd been. He landed in a heap.   
Blood began pooling around him.  
Everyone hushed.  
"He's dying....." Cody whispered disbelievingly.   
What seemed like a cloud of black seemed to struggle out of Kaizer's back and flew off, almost to fast to see. It left behind Ken Ichijouji.  
"Ken!" a small voice wailed. Wormmon scuttled up to the tattered body of his human partner. It gently shook Ken's shoulder, but got no response other than Ken's gaze moving to him. There was no hate in them now, just fear and pain. He drew in a hollow, rattling breath.  
Wormmon looked back up at the Digidestined, tears forming in his large blue eyes.  
They stood there, stone faced, watching Ken die. Watching Wormmon cry. After what seemed like an eternity, Ken's eyes closed and both he and Wormmon vanished in an odd white glow. The only thing left behind were bloodstains.  
"Its over." Davis said. The normally hyperactive boy was still and silent. Everyone was pale faced.   
"But did it end how it was supposed to?" Kari said in an oddly choked voice "We just killed someone! Not just some evil Digimon, but a human! A Digidestined!"  
"Kari...." TK said uncertainly. He didn't know what to say. One minute their enemy had been alive, fighting them. The next, dead and gone.  
Why did it have to end this way?  
"Let's get out of here." Cody finally broke the awful silence. "We've been gone long enough." The others nodded in agreement with the younger boy.  
  
  
"Its not working!" Yolei shrieked. "Someone must have turned off the computer! We're stuck here!"  
"Wonderful. We have to wait until Tai or one of the others turns it back on and gets us out of here." Davis grumbled.  
They had left the scene of the battle, and gotten ready to leave. That's when Yolei had made her dismaying discovery.  
"So you can't leave?" Hawkmon asked. It was the first time he or any of the other Digimon had spoken since the battle.   
"No." Yolei said in frustration, banging her fist on the ground beside where she was sitting.  
BEEP!  
"Eh?" Yolei said intelligibly "E-mail? From who?"  
"Hopefully from Matt or Tai or someone else who knows we're here." TK offered.  
The screen of Yolei's D-terminal fizzled, then became clear again showing the face of an old man.  
"Gennai!" Kari exclaimed. Everyone's faces brightened considerably.   
"That's right." He replied.  
Everyone's faces went dark again.  
"Gennai, Kaizer is-" Davis began, but Gennai cut him off.  
"No, Kaizer is not gone." He said in a steady voice.  
"But we saw him die!" Cody exclaimed, not bothering to ask how Gennai knew about that.  
"He's only become stronger, Cody."   
"So what are you going to tell us?" Yolei said impatiently "Some new prophecy?"  
"As a matter of a fact, yes. There is something important you need to know."  
"Never wear brown shoes with a blue suit?" Kari said smugly, receiving annoyed glances from the others.  
"There are two more children that will join you."  
TK smacked his forehead and muttered something that sounded distinctly like "Deja vu all over again."  
Gennai, either not hearing TK or not caring, continued. "One child is in more danger at the moment. Kaizer knows of her and has made her a target."  
"Her?" Davis said quizzically. Yolei and Kari exchanged mischievous looks.  
"Girl power!" they exclaimed at the same time. The rest of the group sweatdropped. Gennai cleared his throat in an annoyed fashion and again resumed speaking.  
"The prophecy goes like this:  
The Darkness will grow stronger  
It will use its power to attempt to destroy the Chosen children  
Courage will be the first  
Followed by Hope, Love, and Knowledge  
Loyalty in the shadow of the Darkness will aid its comrades  
Light will be the one to bring back Loyalty  
Knowledge discover the mystery of the darkness  
The Darkness will take back Loyalty, unless Faith is restored to the Chosen Children  
All seven shall strike a mortal blow to the Darkness."  
"Ah." said Yolei.   
  
  
  
  
Part One: Fire!  
  
  
They were frightened. All of them. Unlike TK and Kari, the others had never been stranded in the Digital World before. And with Kaizer lurking around waiting to strike? It was downright terrifying.   
"Sleep on the ground?" Yolei said shrilly "I am NOT sleeping on the unclean dirt of the great outdoors."  
"We had to." Kari said a bit testily as they prepared their makeshift campsite. Davis and TK had gone off to collect firewood, leaving Cody, Kari, Yolei, and all the Digimon back in the clearing. Yolei had argued that they would need to the Digimon to protect them, but everyone else had agreed the Digimon deserved a break.  
"Stupid outdoors." Yolei grumbled, kicking branches and other debris out of the clearing. Cody and the Gatomon were attempting to start a fire in the center. Gatomon was swiping at a rock, hoping to get a spark.  
"This is ruining my claws." She whined, slashing harder at the stone. A spark finally came and ignited the small pile of pine needles in the circle of stones they'd made.   
"There it goes!" Kari exclaimed as the fire grew larger, catching the larger twigs. Soon they had a fair sized campfire that illuminated the approaching dusk.  
TK and Davis returned with enough firewood to last a week, let alone through the night. The group attempted to get comfortable around the campfire.  
"Why haven't they come to get us?" Davis wondered aloud "I mean, they would have noticed when we didn't come home."  
TK shot him a dirty look. "Has it occurred to you that the school closes at night?!" he snapped "They can't break into the building, they'd get arrested."  
"You're right." Kari agreed. Everyone just stared at the flames for a while, not saying anything.  
"Who'll do first watch?" Yolei asked, breaking the silence.  
"I will." Davis said quickly.  
"Alrighty then."  
  
About two hours later everyone but Davis were asleep. He poked absently at the fire, sending sparks into the darkness above. There was no moon that night.  
"What now?" he murmured to no one. The only reply was the faint rustling of the leaves in the wind.  
Wait a minute, what wind? There was no wind.  
Davis stood up. He briefly considered waking Veemon, but decided against it. He approached the dark tree line.  
"Who's there?!" he demanded. More rustling, heading away. Davis ran after it. And ran. And ran.  
The rustling abruptly stopped. Davis skidded to a halt.   
There was nothing there. Davis swore. He'd run out here for nothing, leaving the campsite unguarded.  
He turned to go back.  
SNAP.  
He froze at the sound of a twig cracking.  
"Who's there?!" he demanded again, his voice quavering slightly. Nothing but silence, though he could have sworn he heard someone chuckle.  
CRACKLE. CRACKLE.  
Before Davis's frightened eyes flames leapt up and danced along the dry wood of the forest floor. Beyond them stood a towering figure.  
"Kaizer...." Davis rasped. He was answered by a cold laugh.  
He turned to run. Before he could take a step something hit him in the back of the head. Davis' world spun and he fell to the ground, flames inching closer and closer.........  
  
  
"DAVIS!" Yolei shouted above the roar of the fire. She opened her mouth to shout again but coughed instead. Thick black smoke was choking the air.  
She'd woken up to find Davis gone and Veemon asleep. Then she'd seen the flames.  
"DAVIS!" Hawkmon echoed, then began coughing as well. "Yolei, we have to go back!"  
"NO!" she said forcefully, then resumed coughing. Hawkmon quietly pulled Yolei away, back to the campsite.   
"There is nothing you can to for Davis now."  
  
  
Davis had managed to get back on his feet, and was now running as fast as he could away from the fire, dodging the flaming branches that seemed to fall out of thin air. The smoke was making his eyes tear up, making him cough, making it impossible to see where he was going.  
He finally collapsed, unable to go on, suffocating from the thick smoke.   
'This is it,' he thought blearily 'Just like the prophecy said.....'  
Blackness was overtaking him. So this was death.......  
Out of nowhere he felt hands grab him, and half carry, half drag him away from the heat of the flames. Someone strong.  
The air became clearer, he could breathe again. The person dropped him none to gently on the hard ground. Faint footsteps signified the person's departure.  
After a few breaths of clean air Davis found the strength to open his eyes and looked around him.  
There was no sign of his rescuer. In the distance he could here the shouts of his friends.  
Someone had saved him. Someone had risked their life to save him.  
'Thank you...' he thought silently, then lost consciousness again.   
  
  
Part Two: Mystery  
  
The incident had left them unnerved. Wait, not unnerved. Terrified.  
Someone had tried to murder Davis.  
Wonderful, eh?  
"So, the prophecy is true to a certain extent. 1) Kaizer isn't gone, and now he's stronger. 2) Davis was attacked, and one of his Digieggs is Courage. 'Courage will be the first' the prophecy said. 3) Someone saved him. 'Loyalty in the shadow of Darkness will aid its comrades'." Yolei said in a matter of fact tone.  
"So we can assume that Loyalty is the girl we're supposed to look for. Or at least that Loyalty is her Digiegg." Cody added.  
"That's wonderful, but what are we supposed to do?" Davis said irritably. He hadn't been burned to badly by the fire, but he was singed in several places. "Wait for Kaizer to take us out one by one?"  
"Of course not." Yolei replied impatiently "If no one goes off alone without their Digimon we'll be safe to a certain degree."  
"What do we do in the meantime? Sit around camp and wait to be attacked by some rabid Digimon?!" TK retorted.  
"No one is gonna hurt you guys while we're around." Veemon said defiantly. Almost losing the Davis last night had hit him pretty hard. Now he was acting as if he were Velcroed to the brown haired boy. Not that Davis was complaining.  
  
  
That's in essence all they could do, lie around the clearing. Kari and Gatomon had discovered a small lake not to far from camp where they could refill their waterbottles. Gatomon had actually fallen in to be precise.   
"Was it like this when you guys were here at first?" Cody asked TK.  
"No, we had to worry about a psychotic Digimon popping up and attacking us." TK answered crankily. He wasn't in the best of moods.  
"Ariel Attack!" the ground in front of the two boys exploded.  
"TK!" Patamon shouted.  
"Cody!" Armadillomon echoed.  
It was at least a dozen Airdramon. The winged blue serpents swooped down on the kids.  
Veemon, armor digivolve to......Flamedramon!  
Hawkmon, armor digivolve to......Halsemon!  
Patamon, armor digivolve to......Pegasasmon!  
Gatomon, armor digivolve to......Nefertimon!  
The four flying Digimon appeared in a flash of light. Yolei and Davis climbed onto Halsemon, Kari got on Nefertimon, and TK, Armadillomon, and Cody climbed on Pegasasmon.   
They took the air.  
"Tempest Wing!" Halsemon bellowed, firing a blood red beam at one of the Airdramon, deleting it.  
"Not so tough, are they!" Davis cheered, causing Yolei to wince and scowl at him "Go get them, Flamedramon!"  
"Fire Rocket!"  
The Airdramon got less cocky very quickly. The kids' Digimon were mowing them down.  
"AHHHHH!" Davis suddenly screamed.  
"SHUT UP!" Yolei shouted, then she to looked back. An Airdramon had fired point-blank at them. The blue energy ball collided with them squarely.  
"AHHHHHHH!" Halsemon shouted.  
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Davis added.  
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Yolei finished as they struggled to stay on Halsemon's back.  
"Terra Slash!" an unfamiliar voice shouted as an 'X' of silver energy collided with the offending Airdramon, deleting it.  
"That's not one of out Digimon!" Kari shouted.  
Indeed, it wasn't.   
What looked like a giant praying mantis roughly the size of Halsemon had appeared. Its front legs were two long blades, similar to Snimon's. The Digimon was sliver with green streaks on it. A faceplate covered the Digimon's insect-like head, and buzzing dragonfly wings kept it in the air. Though it was very far away, they could tell it had a passenger.   
"Terra Slash!" it cried again, slashing the air and causing the same 'X' to collide with another Airdramon.  
"Who is that?" Kari wondered aloud.  
"Its Trakovramon!" Nefertimon exclaimed "This Vaccine Digimon is formidable in battle, so don't get him mad!"  
"Don't worry, we won't." Yolei said dryly.  
With only three Airdramon left the kids easily got rid of them. They turned back to thank the mysterious Digimon, but it had vanished.  
  
  
"That was a whole lot of nothing." Yolei grumbled as she flopped down on the ground. "You jinxed us, TK."  
"Whatever." He replied and took a sip from his waterbottle, and began coughing.  
"You okay?" Kari inquired.  
"This is some nasty tasting water." TK replied with a grimace. Cody cocked an eyebrow.  
"What do you mean? It tastes fine to me."  
  
  
"TK, wake up! Wake UP!"  
Yolei rubbed her eyes sleepily. "Why make him wake up? Its, like, midnight."  
Kari whipped around to face her. She looked hysterical.  
"He won't wake up! Something's wrong with him!!"  
Yolei was up in an instant. She came over to Kari and TK. She then saw why Kari was so upset.  
TK was pale and shivering. He looked sick, very sick.  
"Why'd he get sick now?" Yolei wondered aloud.  
"He's not sick!" Kari said hysterically, thrusting TK's waterbottle into her hands "He's been poisoned!!!"   
  
  
  
Part Three: When Hope Dies.....  
  
"TK's been poisoned!"   
Yolei sniffed the water in the waterbottle and recoiled. It smelled strongly of poison.  
"He said the water tasted bad! We should have realized!" Kari said tearfully. Yolei put a comforting hand on her shoulder.  
"I'll wake up the others," she told the hysterical girl "We'll find a way to cure him."  
  
  
By morning TK still hadn't woken up or gotten any better. Kari was beside herself with worry.  
"Its my fault," Yolei muttered, kicking a stray stone in the path. Hawkmon looked up at her curiously.  
"How so?"   
"I should have realized TK was next. The prophecy said the order : Courage, Hope, Love-" she stopped abruptly, eyes wide in fear "That means.....I'm next."  
"No!" Hawkmon said sharply "Its not your fault and Kaizer is not going to get you because I won't let him!"  
Yolei smiled at the loyalty of her Digimon partner. Maybe the walk had been a good idea. But the others would probably need her help.....  
"Let's head back." She said. Hawkmon nodded.  
They turned and headed the other way. While they walked something caught her eye.  
"What's that?" she asked, pointing at a brightly colored pod about the size of a coconut on the side of the side of the path. Hawkmon narrowed his eyes.  
"Its a Yasashiisa pod. The seeds on the inside are a powerful antidote."  
"That's good, right?"  
"They're extremely rare."  
"Oh." Yolei furrowed her brow in thought "Someone just left it here........like they knew we'd see it......"  
"Maybe our mysterious helper again?" Hawkmon suggested, picking it up.   
  
  
The Yasashiisa lived up to its name. Once they'd managed to make TK eat one of the pulpy seeds in the pod, he improved practically back to normal overnight.  
  
One thought still plagued Yolei.  
'I'm next..............................'  
  
  
Part Four: Left Hanging  
  
'I'm next........'  
The phrase echoed through her head.  
'I'm next........'  
Could she change that?  
"Yolei?" someone said sharply.  
"What Hawkmon?"  
He looked at her, eyes concerned "You're not being yourself. Stop thinking about the stupid prophecy. I won't let Kaizer lay a finger on you."  
"I hope so, Hawkmon. I really hope so......."  
  
  
It was night, again. Still no moon. The fire was waning.   
'I'm next...............'  
Yolei sat by the fire, knees drawn up to her chin, looking out at the trees. The fire that had nearly killed Davis had not reached near here. The trees were unmarked.   
'I'm afraid.........Judo, I'm afraid........'  
Yolei smiled ruefully at the thought of her older sister. She was probably sick with worry by now. All of their families were would be.  
A wind was picking up. The rustling of the leaves was eerie. Yolei shivered. Hawkmon was asleep.  
'I'm next.............'  
Something flashed in the coal blackness of the forest. Yolei stood, and slowly walked towards the treeline, as if in a trance.  
'The prophecy ........I can't change that.......'  
The glimmering object vanished, but she continued through the coal blackness. The wind was very strong now, whipping branches across her face, blowing leaves past her. It was to dark to clearly see the ground, yet she did not stumble.  
The finally came to a small clearing, with a gigantic tree towering over it. One of the thick branches was about ten feet above the ground, sticking straight out.  
Still in her trance, Yolei walked right under that large branch. She spread her hands, as if saying 'Well?'.  
A streak of lightning cracked the sky. It illuminated the clearing.  
There was something hanging from the large branch.   
A rope. One end was knotted into a loop.  
'A noose..'  
The girl finally snapped out of her trance. She did the only thing she could think of.  
She screamed. The sound had barely left her lips when a gloved hand clamped over her mouth.  
  
  
Davis woke with a start. He thought he'd heard someone scream......  
He looked over to the fire and felt his heart stop.  
Yolei was gone.   
He suddenly realized what the scream had meant. Leaping to his feet he shook Veemon roughly, waking him, and ran straight into the forest.  
"YOLEI!"  
  
  
She couldn't see the person. She didn't have to know who it was.  
Kaizer.  
The noose was around her neck. Her hands had been bound.  
He was going to hang her.  
Try as she could, she could not cry out. The sound seemed to be lodged in her throat. The only sound that came out was whimpering.  
'I'm going to die.'  
He had the rope. She could only see a vague outline of him, but she knew he was smirking.  
He began pulling on the rope.  
Yolei winced as the rope dug into her neck as it pulled her upwards. It was already hard to breathe.  
He tied the rope around the tree and rushed off, leaving her there.  
The wind swung her back and forth. Tears were running down her ashen face, but she still could not cry out.  
Her vision swam as her labored breathing stopped. Blackness, darker than the forest around her, was seeping into her mind, freezing her senses.  
She could feel his eyes on her. He's was making sport of this, watching her die.  
'He's watching me. He's watching me and enjoying it.'  
"Help..........." she whispered.  
Very suddenly she felt Kaizer's gaze leave. He was gone.  
An unfamiliar voice reached her ears.  
"Cut the rope." It ordered to someone. She couldn't see who, but the pressure on her neck vanished, and she fell.  
Someone caught her. Someone strong. They set her down, and she could feel hands loosening the noose around her neck, allowing her to breathe more easily. She couldn't see clearly enough to recognize them, but she caught a flash of blue eyes.....   
Footsteps. The mysterious person vanished and someone came crashing into the clearing.  
"Yolei!"   
It was Davis.  
She blearily opened her eyes and saw Davis and Veemon run to her.  
"Yolei!" he cried again, crouching down beside her. Veemon picked up the rope, examining it. Someone had slashed it where it had been tied around the trunk of the tree.  
"My gosh! Someone tried to hang you!" Davis exclaimed, helping her rise to a sitting position and removing the rope from around her neck.  
"I noticed." She rasped, whispering practically.   
"Did you see who got you down?"  
"No. All I saw were blue eyes........"  
  
  
  
Part Five: In the Murky Depths...  
  
The Darkness will grow stronger  
It will use its power to attempt to destroy the Chosen children  
Courage will be the first  
Followed by Hope, Love, and Knowledge  
Loyalty in the shadow of the Darkness will aid its comrades  
Light will be the one to bring back Loyalty  
Knowledge discover the mystery of the darkness  
The Darkness will take back Loyalty, unless Faith is restored to the Chosen Children  
All seven shall strike a mortal blow to the Darkness  
'If we survive that long.' Cody thought grimly. 'Knowledge is next, that's me.'  
A forest fire that almost killed Davis. TK was poisoned. Yolei was hung. Each time a mysterious person had helped them.  
'What's going to happen to me?!'  
  
  
"How are you doing, Yolei?"   
"My neck and pride hurts." She grumbled, gingerly touching the rope burns on her neck.  
"I would expect." Cody said a bit relieved to see his friend's attitude hadn't left her after what had happened the night before.  
TK had fully recovered from whatever poison it had been, and the few burns inflicted on Davis were healing well. Kari was unmarked, she hadn't been attacked yet. Neither had Cody.  
"Promise me something, Cody." Yolei, suddenly serious, said.  
"What?"  
"Don't go anywhere alone. Anywhere! The prophecy says you're next, and I don't want you to get hurt."  
"I do not wish to be injured either." Cody replied somewhat dryly. Yolei scowled at him.  
"Since when did you become sarcastic?"  
"Since now." He then laughed, somewhat nervously "Don't worry, I'll be careful."  
  
  
"Someone needs to go refill the waterbottles." TK told the rest of the group later that afternoon "We're running out again."  
"I'll go." Cody said quickly, before anyone could protest. Yolei muttered something incomprehensible, though it sounded oddly like: "haveyoubeenlisteningtoawordIsaid?"  
"But Cody," Davis protested. Cody shook his head, eyes hard.  
"Stop treating me like a kid. I'll been fine as long as I have Armadillomon with me."  
"But-" Kari murmured, then apparently changed her mind "All right. But be careful."  
"I will."  
  
  
Dark clouds were making the night come much faster than they had expected. The forest, intimidating during the day, was positively terrifying at night. Branches seemed to reach out to grab them, rocks seemed to move to make them stumble.  
Cody kept his hand on Armadillomon's back, so they wouldn't be separated and also to squash the fear that was rising in him.  
'Why did I have to do this? Did I just have to prove myself like this?'  
He tightened his grip on Armadillomon's frill. The Digimon noticed and looked up at him in concern.  
"Are you scared, Cody?" he asked quietly.   
"Yes, Armadillomon. Very scared."  
A twig snapped behind him. Or did it? Were his nerves getting to him? Probably.  
'He can't hurt me.' He reminded himself 'He can't hurt me if I have Armadillomon with me. He can't hurt me if I have Armadillomon with me. ......'  
They finally reached the lake. By now it really was night. The surface of the lake was like a steel plate, rippling slightly. Quietly Cody bent down near the water and began filling the waterbottles. After clumsily screwing on the cap of the last one he called to Armadillomon.  
"I'm done, let's go ba-"  
He stopped speaking as if his voice had frozen. His eyes went round with fear.  
Armadillomon was gone.  
And heavy footfalls were coming from the trees.........  
  
  
"He should be back by now.." Yolei muttered worriedly, pacing. Hawkmon followed one step behind.  
"Calm down. He's only been gone for five minutes." TK said a bit impatiently.  
"Eight."  
"Look who's counting."  
  
  
'I won't look. I won't look.'  
He had turned back around to face the lake. This wasn't happening. It couldn't. No. Armadillomon had to be right behind him.   
Cody had never felt so sick with fear.  
'I won't look.'  
A heavy footfall came from right behind him. Cody shuddered violently, and turned around.  
Kaizer.  
The ground rushed up to meet him.  
  
When he came to, he was lying on his back.  
'It never happened...'  
Strong hands grabbed his shoulders and pulled him off the ground. Whimpering, Cody turned his head to see his attacker.  
"Lovely night for a stroll, eh?" Kaizer asked him sardonically, smirking. Cody did not reply.  
"Speechless? Oh well. You're going to go for a little swim....."  
It was then Cody saw the rope tied around his ankle. And the other end was tied to a very large rock.........  
"Why are you doing this?" he whispered. Kaizer smiled widely.  
"Because I can........."  
He then threw both the rock and Cody into the water.  
"HELP!" he shouted before he went under.  
The water was cold. And deep. The rock settled to the bottom, and looking up there was at least ten feet of green water above.  
He fumbled with the knot around his ankle, but it was too tight to untangle.   
Already his lungs burned. Uselessly he lashed out, wishing that the rope would miraculously break.  
He tried to take a gulp of air, but got a mouthful of water. He writhed helplessly, vision going foggy, and high above he could see Kaizer watching, laughing. He'd taken his glasses off, and his brown eyes were flashing in triumph....  
'Brown eyes?' Cody thought in the part of his mind that was untouched by the water 'that's not right......'  
Blackness was swallowing him up, darkening his vision, paralyzing his limbs.  
'....help......' he thought despairingly, then floated limp.  
A sudden turbulence hit the water, causing the drowning boy to sway. There was a faint metallic sound, and the tension on Cody's ankle suddenly vanished.  
An arm wrapped itself around his waist, and he felt himself moving upwards....  
They hit the air so suddenly, it felt like a slap in the face. Cody drew in one long breathe and began hacking and gasping, trying to gulp as much of the precious air as he could.  
Someone carried him up onto the bank and set him down on his back. He lay there, still coughing and sputtering.  
"Cody?" the person asked, bending over him "Are you all right?"  
He couldn't see who was speaking. The voice was full of worry and concern, but it was definitely a boy's voice.  
"Cody!" he asked again, more insistent. Cody willed his eyes to open. His vision kept sliding in and out of focus. The only thing he could see clearly were the speaker's eyes. They were blue.....  
His vision suddenly went clear. Astonished and afraid, he stared at the person.  
"KEN?!"  
  
  



End file.
